The present invention relates generally to indoor television antennas which are capable of positioning or orientation for securing maximum reception as may be required for differently located stations or other area conditions which affect reception.
To my knowledge, and except for a single, elongated, stick-like dipole connectable to the receiver by a long, flexible transmission cable, antennas of the above type are either directly built into the television receiver, or comprise a separate component, usually resting on or adjacent to the set, with a relatively short transmission line for connecting the antenna to the set. In practically all cases, the antenna elements, generally of the so-called rabbit ear type, are manually adjustable for maximum reception. This applies also when the antenna comprises only one element instead of the two element rabbit ear type. The transmission line depends directly from the terminal contact portion of the antenna, to the input contact arrangement of the receiver set. The single stick-like antenna, as referred to above, is the subject of my co-pending application, filed July 24, 1975, Ser. No. 598,573, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,332.
There also exist separate indoor television antennas of the above mentioned type which further employ multiple, variously extending dipole rods which are selectable in various combinations by means of a manually operable selector switch. Such a switch is well known and conventional as will be made clear hereinafter.
Many so-called outdoor television antennas employ crossed dipoles in combination with such a manually operated selector switch, the switch generally resting upon or near the receiver, and connected to the antenna by a long transmission line, whether by two pairs of flat twin conductors, or by the equivalent in co-axial cable. In either event, four conductors are employed which are respectively connected to the inner terminal ends of the four dipole rods which comprise the two crossed dipoles. Such an arrangement was specifically set forth in detail in my expired U.S. Pat. No. 2,585,670, dated Feb. 12, 1952, and has been used conventionally for both outdoor and indoor television antennas. However, such indoor antennas, to my knowledge, have not employed crossed dipoles because of space limitations. Instead, a rabbit ear type of dipole has very often been used, together with a loop, thus also comprising four inner terminal ends. Such an arrangement is typified by my design U.S. Pat. No. 194,876, dated Mar. 26, 1963.
Antenna systems of the above type, while exhibiting many advantages, have provided less than achievable reception characteristics when used as indoor antennas. It is to this problem that I directed my attention and which is the subject of this invention.